Hurts me: PV Sindhu slams organizers after Asian Games heartbreak

PV Sindhu hit out at Asian Games organizers after her quarter-final exit in the women’s singles, saying the penalty schedule had taken its toll and questioned the absence of a video review during her defeat to China’s Chen Yufei.

Sindhu lost 21-11, 18-21, 10-21 to the world number four on Sunday after taking the opening match comfortably. The Indian was tied at 18-18 in the second game before Chen won three straight points to take control of the contest, eventually forcing a decider and winning it 21-10.

Sindhu said these three points are still playing on her mind.

“My Asian Games campaign is over and it hurts. Three points from closing the quarterfinals. I keep coming back to those three points,” Sindhu wrote in a social media post.

ASIAN GAMES IN HAWAII

The former world champion also hinted that the absence of a video review system contributed to her frustration. Sindhu played her quarter-final on Court 4, where no video recommendation was available, with the system being used only on Courts 1 and 2 at the Asian Games.

She felt some of the close calls could go her way and potentially change the momentum of the second game.

The scheduling also left little time for Sindhu to recover between matches. She played three singles matches in roughly 24 hours, with her third-round match against Japan’s Tomoka Miyazaki ending around 1:30 a.m. on Sunday before returning to the court less than 12 hours later for a quarter-final against Chen.

“Three matches in 18 hours. Back at 3 am, out again at 8:30 am. It took its toll,” Sindhu wrote.

The demanding program affected other singles as well. Unnati Hooda also played three matches in about 26 hours before losing to Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi in the quarterfinals. Screenshot: X

IT HURTS ME: PV SINDHU

The condensed schedule also drew criticism from other players at the Asian Games. China’s women’s doubles world number one Tan Ning said she felt the schedule was unfair, while India’s HS Prannoy questioned the short turnaround times, especially for players competing in the team event.

For Sindhu, however, the disappointment of the quarter-final defeat was accompanied by a sense of pride in her fourth appearance at the Asian Games.

“From my first Asian Games in 2014 to my fourth now, I have been giving my all for India for twelve years,” she wrote.

“I want to feel it. One painful outcome cannot define a journey that means so much.”

Sindhu also made it clear that the defeat has not dampened her desire to continue competing.

“My team and I are already working to close these moments. We will fix it,” she wrote.

“It hurts, but that’s okay. I’m glad it still means enough to hurt. I still want it. I still bring myself to that trial.”

India’s campaign in the individual badminton events ended without a medal at the Asian Games for the first time in 12 years. The men’s team bronze remains India’s only badminton medal in Aichi-Nagoya.

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